It’s Time To Let It Go People
After reading the latest demand for more 08th MS Team on Animesuki today, I figured I might as well just finally say it. The answer to the question why they don’t make more 08th MS Team, and a further look at how their have in fact been tons of real robot grunt warfare type stories since 08th MS Team with of course some opinion added into the mix. And yes this well feature some of my particular brand of angry and I’ll mention why a little in the actual text.
So 08th MS Team….why don’t they make more stories like it? Well actually…..they did, one was called MS Igloo 1 & 2 and it came out while all the people were bitching and whining about how they didn’t like 00′s take on the robot concept, wanted something more “real”,and what a surprise wanted “Moar 08th MS TEAM!!!!!”. You see here’s the thing….people are so caught up with the 08th MS Team that they fail to see when a show comes out (clear as day I might add to all those paying even the slightest attention) that IMO actually surpasses it in everything it tried to do as a story about grunt warfare, which I’ll say right now really is just special. If it wasn’t already obvious I’ve come to loathe all of this demanding that every Gundam show be the 08th MS Team. When people do that it’s as if to say “everyone else be damned, either a show is 08th MS Team or your going to have to listen to me pick it apart”. First of all that’s just selfish, and frankly I’ll say right now that 08th MS Team wasn’t even all that good IMO, but merely happens to be the OYW sidestory most people seem to know and memeparrot as being what they want more of.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s merits, but I certainly wouldn’t even consider it to be in my top 5 sidestories of the one year war and post one year war period. That honour would go to in order from top to bottom
1. Gundam 0080 War In The Pocket
2. MS Igloo
3. Mobile Suit Gundam Sidestory Rise From The Ashes (which by the way just kicks the shit out of 08th MS in the grunt department by not even giving Master P. Rayer and his team a set of Ground Gundam to work with)
4. Gundam 0083 Stardust Memories
5. Mobile Suit Gundam Sidestory: The Blue Destiny [godly music]
6. The 08th MS Team and lastly
7. Mobile Suit Gundam Sidestory: Lost War Chronicles.
And I’ll admit that I don’t know if this is the case for other people, I’ve honestly come to resent 08th MS a little thanks to this growing trend of whining for more of it because I mean let’s be realistic here, it was one time period specific show that came out a long ass time ago (More than 10 years actually) and it told it’s story already so it shouldn’t be holding the franchise back from approaching new ideas and interpretations of Gundam. Luckily it isn’t no matter how much people cry over it being a done deal, but I’m still going to make a point of it because as I said I’m tired of people whining about it just the same.
That story is done so let’s please just get over it already folks. Besides if MS Igloo actually succeeds where the 08th MS Team failed in actually making a story about the plight of the grunt during the one year war, why would we need more of a lesser idea? Maybe if 08th MS Team hadn’t decided to focus instead on a love store and a bizarre ending episode it might have succeeded as well, but I can’t so.
Here’s the kicker to all of this though, right now there’s so much U.C stuff coming out that it doesn’t even make sense that people are still whining about Gundam 00. Maybe pull away from complaining about it long enough and you’ll see that there’s Gundam Unicorn on the way, Mobile Suit Gundam: Ecole Du Ciel still in print along with Char’s Deleted Affair, a new one year sidestory called Mobile Suit Gundam: Battlefield Record 0081, and apparently yet more MS Igloo on the way as well, but we’re still waiting on confirmation for that one. There are in fact more U.C products focusing on grunt and micro level sidestories being released this year than there are A.U stories (I can only name Gundam 00I), so the whining about wanting more 08th MS Team like stories actually makes no sense at all. So unless people specifically want 08th MS Team: The After Years I would request that their be no more demanding for 08th MS Team. If that’s not possible and people can’t get off the back of A.U for the sake of those who do enjoy it then….well….at least I can say I tried to steer people in the right direction.
From the standpoint of not wanting any more OYW side stories, I can agree. I’d rather see more Zeta and pre-CCA side stories. That aside, I love 08th. I really do.
A lot of the clamor may indeed come from those who haven’t seen all the other side stories you mentioned, so they may merely be uninformed.
@ghostlightning: Well now people who read this will know so there shouldn’t be anymore excuse right?
Anyway yes indeed we talked about the overabundance of one year war sidestories and how they probably need to move beyond that period, so it makes it all the stranger that people would demand more of them. There are so many OYW sidestories I don’t even know if there’s anymore room for them in the canon unless they intrude on what’s already been established again like with funnily enough 08th MS Team and it’s GM’s and Ball’s that couldn’t possibly exist yet at the beginning of that series.
“Maybe if 08th MS Team hadn’t decided to focus instead on a love store and a bizarre ending episode it might have succeeded as well, but I can’t so.”
Exactly. 08th MS Team was irritating because of that shitty love story. Romance that isn’t saccharine sweet has, generally, been done poorly by the Japanese and I doubt I’m alone in this belief.
Something I never understand is why people keep whining about ‘realism’ because that’s something Japan hasn’t been exactly good at presenting in the moving picture medium. This is, of course, ignoring the fact that Gundam is a show about big ‘realistic’ (lol) robats smashing each other over the head.
Well anime fans are generally manchildren so their silly complaints shouldn’t be surprising.
I think 08th is overrated too–it’s fairly decent but the gritty war aspect is so overplayed by many an annoying UCfag.
A shame that I never had the chance to play Rise From the Ashes–White Dingo suits in the Gundam Battle PSP series are incredible.
@Schneider: Really? But they’re just normal GM’s with a repaint…..what other mobile suits are there in that game that are inferior to them?
I always think of it as nostalgia and refusing change. People like how one thing went and if later releases aren’t the same they discredit and whine about it. You see it in Gundam, various game series and whatnot. Not much you can do about it, sadly.
08th was decent, but overrated. It’s going to keep being overrated and some fans won’t accept change or even that a different series/later release might have done better in some regards.
“08th MS Team: The After Years” got a chuckle out of me though. Wasn’t expecting that.
Something I found for UC fans:
You know, it sounds like people just try to find an excuse to be picky about Gundam 00. I guess after the “Seed hating” trend, now it’s cool to think that only 08th Team is worth a Gundam name in its whole franchise =/.
@Duo Maxwell: I imagine Tieria doing his “You are not worth enough to be a Gundam….” every time I see the 08th MS Team clause used. And really at this point I think it warrants recognition as a clause considering how often I see it used. :/
It’s the same thing when SEEDers and UC whores (no, make that One Year Whores) keep on complaining about something that is not SEED nor part of the OYW.
Know what, it’s not the 08th MS Team that they should be asking – it should be Gundam X. I’m not asking for a remake (as I already love the original), but side stories circulating it will be good enough.
MAEK MORRE G GUNDUM.
I have to agree, I’m always a little surprised at how the 08th MS Team is pumped up to be the pinnacle of “realism” among Gundam shows, yet when I actually watched it it felt rather a bit of a letdown. 0080 and 0083 felts considerably more gritty by comparison – perhaps it might be due to the animation style.
While I do like the whole grunt warfare part of the 08th MS team, I do agree that 08th team is overrated by its fans. It seems that they are praising it for the grunt warfare alone without regarding the quality of the story. Granted the story was not bad, but the love story seemed a bit forced since the two only met twice and fell in love too quickly. I also thought that Shiro was a little too idealistic and that his faith in his ideals was never really put to the test. Overall though, I think 08th MS team is a good series.
*Late to the ballgame*
People are just saying they want more 8th MS because they REMEMBER it being good. I recently sat down to replay my nostalgic loves and 8th MS and Stardust are both horrendously bad which is a little saddening for me as now I only have like 5 Gundam shows I can still say I “like”. Now, I’m NEVER going to rewatch Gundam Wing again… ever.